How often is domestic violence reported in West Hollywood?

Short answer: There’s a domestic-violence-related call for law-enforcement assistance every three days, more per resident than in most nearby cities

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According to state data, West Hollywood had 133 domestic-violence-related calls for law-enforcement assistance in 2015. That’s about one every three days.

Historical trend in domestic-violence-related calls

The chart below shows the number of domestic-violence-related calls over a 10-year period. The lowest year was 2007, with 112. The number peaked at 226 in 2010. By 2015, it was almost back to the 2006 level.

Domestic-violence-related calls compared to nearby cities

We calculated the number of domestic-violence-related calls per capita in nearby cities. West Hollywood was second only to Los Angeles in 2015, with 37 calls per 10,000 residents. Los Angeles had 55. Beverly Hills came in third with 31. Santa Monica (25) and Burbank (23) had similar rates. We suspect Culver City reported their numbers differently, resulting in a very low rate: one call per 10,000 residents.

We also checked nearby cities to see if they displayed the same trend as West Hollywood over the last 10 years. They didn’t. They did have one thing in common: they were all below their highs in 2015. Beverly Hills and Culver City had numbers on the low end of their 10-year ranges. Burbank, Los Angeles, and Santa Monica had numbers in the middle of their 10-year ranges.

Domestic-violence-related calls by weapon

The state data categorizes the call by the weapon involved. We show the numbers below for West Hollywood and nearby cities.

In West Hollywood, hands, feet, or some other body part were used as a weapon nine times out of ten. Knives or other unspecified weapons were rare: 5% of calls. There were no domestic-violence-related calls involving guns in West Hollywood in 2015.

Sources: Same as above.

The breakdown by weapon varies so much by city that we suspect reporting differences. Los Angeles had the most calls involving guns, knives, or other unspecified weapons: 13%. Beverly Hills came in second, with one knife and 12 unspecified others.

Domestic violence incidents by crime

The sheriff’s department provides additional information on domestic violence incidents in West Hollywood. We believe these incidents represent a subset of the domestic-violence-related calls for assistance.

In 2015, almost two-thirds of domestic violence incidents involved a non-aggravated assault. Aggravated assaults made up 30%.

Sources: City of West Hollywood, semi-annual public safety reports; our analysis.

Domestic violence incidents by gender

The sheriff reports the number of domestic violence incidents in three gender categories: male-male, female-female, and male-female. We don’t know the relationship (e.g., parent-child) or ages. We don’t know how many of the incidents in the male-female category involved a male victim.

Two-thirds of the incidents in West Hollywood in 2015 were mixed gender. A quarter were male on male.

Sources: Same as above.

Victims of domestic violence by sexual orientation and gender

We don’t have West Hollywood-specific domestic violence data by sexual orientation. A federal study found that lesbians and bisexual women are more likely than straight women to experience rape, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetimes. The rates are about the same for gay men as straight men, but higher for bisexual men. The rates are higher for women in each sexual orientation category than for men in the same category.

Short answer: There's a domestic-violence-related call for law-enforcement assistance every three days, more per resident than in most nearby cities|
According to state data, West Hollywood had 133 domestic-violence-related calls for law-enforcement assistance in 2015. That's about one every three days.
Historical trend in domestic-violence-related calls
The chart below shows the...

DavidWarrendavid_warren@post.harvard.eduAdministratorWeHo by the Numbers

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reports using data to explore city government policy, performance, and community issues. Focused on West Hollywood (WeHo), Beverly Hills, Culver City, Los Angeles, and Santa Monica. Researched and written by David Warren as a private citizen. This is not a government website.